Neighbors
by TheOutlawOutcast
Summary: AU Prompt "I recently found out that my cat has been treating your apartment like a second home." Leave it to a furry feline to bring two people together.


**AU Prompt "I recently found out that my cat has been treating your apartment like a second home." Thought this would be a small fun piece to write. Grammar mistakes are my own, etc. I literally wrote this at 2AM so I apologize in advance for mistakes. Hope you enjoy!**

Yang let out a happy sigh as she placed the final box on the floor of her living room. The room was filled with stacked cardboard boxes labeled accordingly and all her furniture spread out on the carpet. A smile formed n her face as she walked over to the balcony doors. She had a great view, beautiful buildings towering high above, she could hear the hustle and bustle of a lively city. Taking in the view for a few minutes more she then began unboxing her things and sorting out her furniture. She made a list of things to pick up from the store once she went shopping later.

She just finished setting up her bedroom when her scroll rang loudly throughout the apartment. She walked out into the living room before walking behind the counter leading to a kitchen. Her scroll rang from its place on the table before she grabbed it.

She smiled as she quickly read who was calling.

"Hey Ruby, what's up?"

"Are you moved in yet?"

Yang looked around at her new home, everything was placed and put away. There were just some empty boxes by her balcony door. She left the window open next to the balcony to let in the summer breeze.

"Yeah, just finished up."

Yang laughed as she heard her sister shout her excitement.

"I'll be there in thirty minutes!"

Yang shook her head fondly as her sister hung up. She looked around at her new home. The walls were rather plain now but that would change once she went to the store and got some paint. Her furniture was placed around invitingly, tv and stereo system up against the wall. Picture frames decorated some surfaces, mainly family and friends. She smiled content, laying back on the couch.

A rustling and the thump of a box drew her attention.

Looking over to the boxes by the back door she saw one of her boxes overturned and sliding on the carpet. Confused and cautious, the blonde got up and carefully walked over to the box, hearing more shuffling from inside. She lifted the box and looked quizzically at the culprit.

A black cat with green eyes looked up at her and meowed softly.

"Uh…okay? Where did you come from?" Yang wondered aloud as the cat eagerly rubbed against her pantleg.

The feline seemed friendly, Yang reached out her hand for the animal to sniff and smiled when the happily rubbed its head against her hand. As she pet the animal she noticed a collar around it's neck. Maybe the cat belonged to someone from the apartment complex. She flipped the tag around and read the name.

"Shroud? Seems fitting for you, huh buddy." Yang complimented with a smile.

The cat meowed softly in return, swishing its tail lazily. The cat then walked through the apartment, sniffing the furniture and looking around the room. It hopped onto the couch and curled into a ball, a content purring filled the room. Well she might as well go grocery shopping to pick up the essentials, maybe a can of tuna too. Yang chuckled softly as she watched the cat make itself at home.

"Well I guess you can stay for a while Shroud. Do you think you could watch the place while I'm gone?" Yang asked as she walked over to her door, grabbing a set of keys and a biking helmet.

The black cat let out a yawn before offering several happy meows.

"I'll be back soon."

**Meanwhile in the apartment above**

A woman with long dark hair was seated at a desk with her laptop, switching between typing and writing in her notebook. She paused to read what she had written, bringing up a cup of warm tea to her lips. Amber eyes focused on her task before humming her satisfaction. She saved her work and neatly organized her notes before getting up and walking into her kitchen to pour another cup of tea. Blake poured a fresh cup from her teapot, inhaling the hearty aroma before taking a drink.

Refreshed and rejuvenated, Blake took the opportunity to stretch out her body in the form of yoga and full body stretching exercises. Striking several poses, she fluidly maneuvered her body into different positions and stretched her muscles. Being remarkably flexible, Blake was always able to feel the satisfying pull of her muscles and the release of her tense energy. After twenty minutes of stretching she breathed a happy sigh of relief and got back to her feet.

She then walked to her couch, picking up her scroll from the coffee table. She read through her messages, some from her parents and others from her friends. She smiled, her friend Sun sent her a picture of him and Neptune at the beach. Neptune was stiff as a board but hey the guy was trying to overcome his fear. She smiled and sent the two men encouraging words and a message to her parents before walking down the hall and going into her room.

"Shroud? Are you in here?" Blake asked casually, grabbing a change of clothes and laying them out on her bed.

She received no meow in reply.

He was probably taking a nap somewhere she supposed. Blake changed into her loungewear, consisting of loose grey sweatpants and a long sleeve purple shirt. She walked out of her room, tying her hair up in a loose bun and stepped into the kitchen. She began to prepare herself dinner and grabbed Shroud's food from the cabinet under the sink. Once the food was ready, she brought her plated food into her living room, turned on the tv to find a movie to watch.

As the movie was thirty minutes in and her food was eaten Blake heard the telltale meowing of Shroud as he happily padded over to her from the hallway.

"There you are, you lazy boy." Blake greeted happily as Shroud eagerly hopped onto the couch to rub against her.

Blake giggled as Shroud gave her a lick to the cheek before snuggling into her arms. The two watched the rest of the movie together before calling it a night and going to bed.

**A few minutes earlier**

Shroud was cautiously pawing at a pair of boxing gloves. The white and red laces taunting him relentlessly. He meowed happily as he flipped one glove over, the padded red leather face up. He crouched low, wiggling his body slightly before pouncing on the glove. He swatted at the glove a few moments more before declaring the glove defeated. Shroud made his way back over to the boxes.

Jumping on top of one, the box wiggled unstably before the flaps sunk down making Shroud fall in. a surprised meow and a puff of packing peanuts flew into the air and sprinkled around the boxes. The feline jumped out, styrofoam peanuts clinging to the cat's fur. Shroud rolled around happily as he played with the foam on the floor and stuck to his body.

A key turning in the lock of the door alerted him to the return of Yang.

"Thanks for helping me with the groceries Rubes." Yang said happily, arms full of paper bags.

"No problem! This looks so great!" Ruby said looking around the place as she set her own bags on the kitchen counter.

Silver eyes immediately found Shroud as the cat sat up and shook some of the foam off its body, happy meows directed at the two women.

"Oh my gosh! You got a kitty!"

Ruby kneeled as Shroud trotted over happily rubbing his head against her hand. Yang smiled as she began putting away her groceries.

"Well not exactly, I'm starting to think he may have gotten in through my window over there."

Ruby followed her sisters' finger as the blonde pointed to the open window next to the balcony doors.

"What's his name?"

Ruby cooed and awed at the feline as Shroud rolled around on the floor and played with the foam pellets.

"Shroud is on his name tag there."

"Well I think he's adorable and you should probably leave the window open so he can find his way home." Ruby stated getting to her feet to help with groceries.

"Yeah good idea, I'm sure his owner is starting to wonder where he is."

The two finished putting away the food and stocking the cabinets then Yang walked Ruby through her apartment. Just like Yang thought, Ruby's favorite part was the view from the balcony. The two were sitting on chairs looking over the city as afternoon turned into night. Shroud was perched on a nearby table, sitting and enjoying the view as well.

"So how bout I make us dinner, you hungry?" Yang asked, stretching her arms above her head slightly.

"God, I miss your cooking. Yes please!" Ruby exclaimed dramatically.

The two made their way inside to prepare their dinner. The two women talked and laughed throughout their time spent together. Once their food was eaten, they both worked together in cleaning and drying the dishes. Shroud was then given a can of fresh tuna which he eagerly ate with happy flicks of his tail.

Yang then walked her sister to the door giving her a hug goodbye and a kiss to her forehead.

"Be safe and text me when you're home alright?"

"Yes mom."

Yang reached out and ruffled her hair slightly which earned a laugh of protest in return. One more hug was exchanged before Ruby left to go home. With a content sigh Yang made her way to the couch, spreading out on the sofa cushions. Meows alerted her, picking her head up to see Shroud on the ledge of the window.

"Leaving too huh?" Yang smiled as she got up and walked over to the cat.

Shroud expressed his gratitude by purring loudly and rubbing his head against Yang's hand.

"Don't be a stranger buddy." Yang said with a smile.

The cat then hopped out the window, walking with perfect balance along the railing until he reached the edge. From there the cat easily jumped to the metal fire escape steps leading to the balcony above. Yang watched a few minutes more, making sure the cat didn't fall before returning to her own home.

Over the next two weeks a pattern began to form.

Shroud would appear on Yang's balcony on Mondays through Wednesdays from 9am to 2pm. Yang had gotten into the habit of leaving her window partly open for the friendly cat to come and go as he pleased. The blonde would feed him tuna and cat food that she had gotten. Shroud especially loved to help Yang with her boxing training and exercises. He would inspect and swat at her boxing gloves to "check" them before the blonde could put them on. As Yang would do her sets of pushups, Shroud would hop onto her back and knead her shoulders. Another thing he loved to do was paw at her long blonde hair if she was sitting and he was able to reach the silky strands.

As this happened, Blake noticed that Shroud would sleep more often on those days and hardly eat his food. She started to worry that he might be getting sick. She had gotten home early Wednesday, setting her things on the couch before walking into her room.

"Shroud? Shroud, where are you?"

She checked her room and walk in closet, he wasn't there. Bathroom no. Kitchen no. She was looking in the living room and began to worry more when she still couldn't find him. Thinking the worst Blake began to tear up when happy eager meows sounded from her window by the balcony. Amber eyes widened as they saw Shroud climb in through the window to greet her.

"Shroud! Where were you!?" Blake scolded as she picked up the cat, holding him to her chest.

The cat just purred happily, nuzzling against her and continued his happy meows.

"Alright mister, no more funny business. I'm taking you to the vet." Blake said as she grabbed her sweater and keys from the couch.

Shroud meowed his displeasure, flicking his ears slightly. Blake carried him down the hall, walking down to the second floor. As she passed the hallway an apartment door opened to reveal a tall blonde exiting into the hall. Shroud immediately perked up in her arms as he began struggling to greet the blonde woman.

The blonde turned to see a brunette woman holding a familiar feline. Her amber eyes looked startled as the cat escaped her arms and immediately scampered over to the blonde, nuzzling its head against her leg.

"Hey little guy, long time no see." Yang greeted, kneeling to pet Shroud.

Shroud happily meowed repeatedly before walking over to the blonde's door and scratching to get inside. He wiggled his way through the slightly ajar door.

"Shroud no! Hey!" Blake scolded as she stepped forward to follow him.

Yang just laughed as she went back into her apartment to see Shroud happily playing with her boxing gloves by her training equipment. Blake walked over and picked him up before turning around to see the amused blonde.

"I am so sorry, he is usually so well behaved." Blake apologized, a flush of embarrassment donning her cheeks.

"Nah he's fine, he stops by from time to time." Yang assured calmly.

"What?" Blake frowned in confusion.

"Yeah, he climbs down the fire escape from the balcony." Yang informed with a smile, walking over and showing the brunette.

It didn't take long for Blake to put the pieces together.

"Well this is embarrassing, I recently found out that my cat has been treating your apartment like a second home so first of all I apologize." Blake said with a smile.

Yang grinned in return, "No worries, he's great company."

"And secondly, I don't think that we were properly introduced. My name is Blake Belladonna." Blake said holding out a hand in a proper greeting.

"Yang Xiao Long, nice to meet you." Yang shook her hand.

Shroud looked between the two women and meowed happily, his green eyes filled with mischief and a sense of accomplishment.


End file.
